Victorian Order of Nurses during Yukon Gold Rush

District Nursing in the Klondike Gold Fields and Hospitals

Aug 5, 2009 Kathleen Airdrie

Shortly after its inauguration in 1897, the Victorian Order of Nurses received a request that led to an unforgettable journey.

Four fully-trained district nurses, accompanied by the Yukon Field Force, travelled to the Yukon to provide care for miners seeking gold.

Victorian Order of Nurses Respond to Appeal

Lady Aberdeen, who successfully launched the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada (VON), received an appeal for nurses in the Klondike. There was great need for medical care for the thousands of people who rushed into the area seeking gold. At her request, Lady Aberdeen obtained more complete information about the conditions and requirements.

VON Superintendent Charlotte MacLeod sent out a call for potential candidates who would have to meet specific standards. They had to be at least twenty-eight years old and unmarried. They also had to be graduates of a recognized nursing school. As well, they were told that they would have to dress very plainly and “not curl or crimp their hair”.

Field Force and Nurses Depart from Ottawa

Four nurses, Georgia Powell, Rachel Hannah, Margaret Payson, and Amy Scott were selected. In Ottawa, they were outfitted in clothing appropriate for a long, rough journey. Lady Aberdeen, in an agreement with the Canadian government, arranged for the nurses to travel with a detachment of troops known as the Yukon Field Force. After much preparation and many conversations about the hardships they would endure, the women began their journey

They departed for the west in a private coach in early May, 1898 following a great send off at the train station in Ottawa. Faith Fenton, a Toronto Globe newspaper reporter and Mrs. Starnes, whose husband was serving in Dawson, joined them in Toronto. In Winnipeg, the Hudson’s Bay Company gave each of the nurses a full-length fur coat.

On May 14, 1898, they began the trip from Victoria, British Columbia that would take them to the Alaskan Pan Handle.

Steamboat, Great Glacier, and Dangerous Overland Trek

On May 19, they transferred to a steamboat for a tedious and dangerous five-day journey up the Stikine River. When not concerned for their safety, they observed the Great Glacier, hot springs, and grand scenery. The overland trek from Glenora to Telegraph Creek took them through bogs and marshes and along barely-marked trails. Hordes of mosquitoes and periods of severe weather made the journey even more difficult.

The nurses tended to medical problems of the soldiers and residents in mining villages along the route. Georgia Powell travelled with one troop detachment to Fort Selkirk where she learned of a raging typhoid fever outbreak.

Leaving Amy Scott to wait for the other nurses, Georgia went on to the newly-constructed Good Samaritan Hospital in Dawson. There, she fought against the epidemic and sent word to Fort Selkirk. Immediately after landing at the fort, Rachel Hanna and Margaret Payson, together with Amy Scott, travelled to the hospital.

Amy Scott was assigned to nursing duties at the North West Mounted Police barracks. Margaret Payson staffed the hospital at Grand Forks, and Georgia Powell took over the duties of Rachel Hannah who was ill with typhoid.

Lady Aberdeen Received Reports of Nurses’ Work

Georgia Powell sent graphic reports to Lady Aberdeen in Ottawa. She wrote about the typhoid patients inflicted with pneumonia, malaria, liver congestion, and other ailments. She wrote about the terrible filth and vermin that existed. Scurvy was also a problem among the miners who lived on game and had no dietary variety.

The decision to withdraw the VON from the Klondike was made during the summer of 1900. The primary mandate of the Victorian Order of Nurses was to do district nursing. While the four women were going into surrounding areas, most of their work was in the hospital.

The nurses received high praise and respect of the Canadian military authorities for their work under deplorable conditions. Their exploits became one of the great stories “in the Victorian Order of Nurses’ long and colorful history”.

Source:

Victorian Order of Nurses History - A Century of Caring

The copyright of the article Victorian Order of Nurses during Yukon Gold Rush in Canadian History is owned by Kathleen Airdrie. Permission to republish Victorian Order of Nurses during Yukon Gold Rush in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Dawson City, Yukon 1898